Dad Supports Muslim Daughter if She Chooses to Not Wear Hijab

Pennsylvania, April 19, 2017: “When I saw how sweet my dad’s response was I felt that this proved something; it proved that misconceptions are often made about people who end up being the exact opposite”, 17 year old Lamyaa of Pennsylvania said for her father’s unwavering support for her if she chose to not wear a hijab. This grabbed online attention after Lamyaa tweeted the screenshot of this conversation.

This happened after a boy in a group chat told Lamyaa that her father would likely beat her were she to take off her headscarf.

Lamyaa had told the BBC that she did not actually intend to take her scarf off: “It was never part of the plan. I just wanted to prove a point.”

While some supported her father’s reaction, others said they did not have the same choice to voluntarily remove the scarf.

Commenting on how it all started, Lamyaa said: “I had very strong views considering the impact the Trump presidency has on me because I am an Arab, Muslim woman. I brought up the fact that I was Muslim [in the group chat] and that guy didn’t feel comfortable so he said what he said.

Many messaged Lamyaa support following her post, and she added that some even said it changed their views on the hijab.

“Your dad is perfect and so are you,” Twitter user @LorraineE_C told her.

Teenage girls who were maltreated during their childhood are more likely to entertain suicidal thoughts if the relationship with their mother is poor and the degree of conflict between the two is high.

Maltreatment includes emotional, physical, and sexual abuse and emotional and physical neglect.

The findings of the study highlighted that the quality of the mother-daughter relationship and their level of conflict are two direct mechanisms that are associated with child maltreatment and suicidal thoughts during adolescence.

“Our findings suggest that disruptions to a positive mother-teen relationship are one reason why children who experienced abuse or neglect are at risk for suicide as teens,” said Elizabeth Handley, Assistant Professor University of Rochester in New York.

“We know from decades of research that a warm, nurturing, and consistent relationship between mothers and their children is critical for many aspects of healthy development. This continues to be true even in adolescence, when teenagers spend more time with their friends and less time at home with family,” she added.

For the study, published in the journal Suicide and Life Threatening Behaviour, researchers from the varsity included 164 socio-economically disadvantaged, depressed, adolescent girls (average 14-year-olds) and their mothers.

Attachment-based family therapy has proven useful in reducing suicidal thoughts among teenagers by strengthening the functioning of the family and the parent-adolescent attachment relationship, the team noted. (IANS)